The forest loomed like a living wall.
Trees that once stood twenty feet were now towers—hundreds of feet tall, their trunks wide enough to swallow entire houses. Their bark glowed faintly with blue veins that pulsed like beating hearts. Leaves shimmered with unnatural luminescence, shifting colors as though reacting to the air itself.
Nick stared at the entrance, his pulse quickening.
"Okay… no turning back now."
The System's glowing arrow glided into the trees.
Nick followed.
The moment he stepped under the canopy, everything changed.
The temperature dropped.
The air thickened.
The sounds of the ruined city vanished completely.
Inside the forest, only the hum of mana remained—a low, vibrating thrum that felt like it was resonating with something inside him.
Nick swallowed hard. "This place feels alive."
A soft chime answered him.
[Environmental Status: High-Mana Zone]
Effects:
Mana saturation increases mutation speed.
Bloodline resonance is easier to trigger.
Threat level: Moderate–High.
Nick kept walking, staying alert. Every leaf rustle felt like a threat. Every flickering light felt like a warning.
He stepped over roots as thick as cars. Strange flowers bloomed along the path, petals shimmering like crystals. A soft mist curled between the trees, glowing faintly in shades of green and purple.
Another notification flickered.
[New Status: Mana Exposure]
Bloodline Reactivity: +5%
Instability Risk: +2%
Nick's breath caught.
"Instability?"
He whispered, "What does that mean?"
The System did not answer.
Nick forced himself onward.
A twig snapped behind him.
He spun instantly.
Nothing.
No—not nothing.
The forest had gone silent.
Too silent.
Nick's instincts prickled. A cold ache spread down his back.
Something watched him.
He took a slow step backward.
A low, wet gurgling echoed through the trees.
Nick turned.
And froze.
A deer stood between the trees—but mutated beyond anything natural:
Its legs were too long, bending in impossible angles.
Its fur flickered between flesh and shadow.
Antlers twisted like blades of obsidian, dripping with blue liquid.
But worse—
Its eyes weren't eyes at all.
Just empty sockets filled with swirling mana.
Nick's stomach dropped.
"Oh hell no."
The creature lowered its head.
It charged.
Nick dove sideways as the mutated deer slammed into the spot he'd just been standing. The impact shattered the bark of a mana-glowing tree, sending cracks spiraling upward.
Nick scrambled to his feet.
The deer screeched—an unholy sound that rippled through the forest.
It charged again.
Nick raised his arms—
But he wasn't fast enough.
The creature struck his ribs, launching him across the forest floor. Pain exploded through his side. He gasped, rolling to a stop, coughing violently.
"G—gh… fucking hell—"
A notification blinked weakly.
[Damage Taken: -12 HP]
[Vitality mitigated fatal impact]
Nick forced himself up.
The deer was already circling him, movements twitchy, unstable, aggressive.
Nick clenched his fists, trembling.
"I can't run… You'll chase me."
He had to fight.
Even if his whole body screamed that he wasn't ready.
The deer lunged, antlers sweeping for his throat.
Nick ducked, the blade-like horn slicing the air inches above his head. He grabbed a fallen branch—thick, heavy—and swung with everything he had.
The branch shattered.
The deer didn't flinch.
Nick stumbled backward.
The creature lunged a third time.
And something inside him snapped.
Something hot.
Something fierce.
Something ancient.
His heart roared in his chest.
His vision sharpened.
His muscles tensed.
Heat surged through his veins.
The world moved slower—too slow.
A window burst open.
[Bloodline Trigger: Warborn Instinct — Partial Awakening]
Effects:
Strength +2
Agility +2
Reflexes enhanced
Emotional suppression disabled
Warning: User may experience violent impulses.
Nick exhaled sharply as power flooded his body.
"Okay… okay—focus—don't lose it."
The deer charged again.
This time—
Nick was faster.
He dodged sideways with unnatural speed, grabbing its antler. The momentum nearly ripped his arm out of its socket, but he held on, twisting violently.
The creature screeched, stumbling.
Nick brought his knee up, slamming it into the deer's jaw. The impact cracked bone. The forest rang with a hollow snap.
The deer staggered, dazed.
Nick didn't think.
He moved.
Fist.
Elbow.
Knee.
Striking again and again—
Until the creature collapsed.
Dead.
Nick froze, chest heaving.
His hands shook violently.
His breath came out ragged.
His heart pounded like a drum of war.
He stared at the corpse.
Then down at his trembling fingers.
"What… what did I just do…?"
The Warborn Instinct flickered again inside him, urging him toward something primal.
A chime cut through the haze.
[You have defeated: Mutated Forest Stalker (Tier 1)]
EXP Gained: 35
Level Up! — Level 2 → Level 3
Stat Points Awarded: +6
Another window opened with a softer tone.
[Bloodline Resonance: 3%]
The Warborn awakens.
Nick staggered back until his spine hit a glowing tree trunk. He slid down, breathing hard.
"I'm… I'm getting stronger."
But the fear wasn't gone.
Because he wasn't sure if he had been fighting—
—or if the Warborn inside him had taken over.
He looked at the glowing trees stretching endlessly into the forest, at the mist curling like breath from a sleeping giant, at the mutated corpse beside him.
This world was deadly.
This world was alive.
This world was changing him.
Nick clenched his fists.
"I don't have a choice. I have to survive this. I have to find them."
He stood.
The System arrow glowed again, guiding him deeper into the forest.
As Nick stepped forward, another whisper echoed inside him—not cosmic this time, but his own bloodline speaking through instinct:
"The first kill was an accident.
The second was a choice."
Nick shivered.
Then continued walking.
Because choice or not—
He would do whatever it took to live.